Corona Virus

[madducks]

On 3/28/20, the ten countries w the highest # of CV-19 cases were:
1 USA 123,871
2 Italy 92,472
3 China 81,394
4 Spain 73.235
5 Germany 58,362
6 France 38,105
7 Iran 35,408
8 UK 17,312
9 Switzerland 14,108
10 Netherlands 9,819

Currently, this is the top 10:
1 USA 4,813,647
2 Brazil 2,733,677
3 India 1,804,702
4 Russia 850,870
5 South Africa 511,485
6 Mexico 439,046
7 Peru 428,850
8 Chile 359,731
9 Colombia 317,651
10 Iran 309,437

In March, 7 of the top 10 were Western European countries. Currently, none of them are. In March, none of the top 10 were Latin American countries. Currently, 5 of them are. The only 2 countries that are on both lists are the US and Iran, each ranked in the same or similar spot. Western Europe has figured out how to flatten the CV-19 curve while the US, who was experiencing a similar amount impact from the pandemic, has not. Similar types of governments, economic systems and cultures, different results. Very disappointing. US cases have increased by almost 39 times between the 2 dates. The cases of the European countries listed have increased from 2 to 5.6 times, except for the UK which has increased about 17.6 times.

I think Americans have figured it out, but half the population is too selfish and arrogant ("COVID only kills the weak, so i'm not concerned.") and reckless ("Im doing whatever i want.") to do what they know is right.

[Sour Masher]

I think Americans have figured it out, but half the population is too selfish and arrogant ("COVID only kills the weak, so i'm not concerned.") and reckless ("Im doing whatever i want.") to do what they know is right.

Yeah, it is a chicken egg thing--is it the government's fault for catering to that segment of the population, politicizing a public health crisis, and emboldening them, or is that population of voters, mainly on the right, forcing politicians to refrain from making mandates that would save lives? I don't know who the dog and tail here is, but they are feeding off each other, and the rest of us continue to suffer.

[DMT]

Yeah, it is a chicken egg thing--is it the government's fault for catering to that segment of the population, politicizing a public health crisis, and emboldening them, or is that population of voters, mainly on the right, forcing politicians to refrain from making mandates that would save lives? I don't know who the dog and tail here is, but they are feeding off each other, and the rest of us continue to suffer.

I disagree, this definitely starts with Trump.

[GwynnInTheHall]

I've been debating this nightly--I contend that a strong Federal response out of the gate, with a Natl edit on lockdowns and protocols would have mitigated lives lost. yes Trump stopped travel from China, but even after that over 40K people came back into the USA from China (citizens--yes I know) Instead it was ignored, minimized, pushed off onto States and then when States didn't do what Trump wanted, threats were issued, Trump made it political to stir support for his negligent ways and now here we are--in a shit show created predominantly by Trump and his inability to handle crisis and be a leader. Exacerbated by his infantile mindset and total lack of regard for anyone else but himself . DMT is right--the Buck starts and stops with Trump.

[Sour Masher]

I've been debating this nightly--I contend that a strong Federal response out of the gate, with a Natl edit on lockdowns and protocols would have mitigated lives lost. yes Trump stopped travel from China, but even after that over 40K people came back into the USA from China (citizens--yes I know) Instead it was ignored, minimized, pushed off onto States and then when States didn't do what Trump wanted, threats were issued, Trump made it political to stir support for his negligent ways and now here we are--in a shit show created predominantly by Trump and his inability to handle crisis and be a leader. Exacerbated by his infantile mindset and total lack of regard for anyone else but himself . DMT is right--the Buck starts and stops with Trump.

Right, clearly his set the tone for this thing early. My question, though, is are his underling governors cow-towing to his minions who want to call the virus fake news, or are they swaying those virus-deniers to be that way?

[GwynnInTheHall]

Right, clearly his set the tone for this thing early. My question, though, is are his underling governors cow-towing to his minions who want to call the virus fake news, or are they swaying those virus-deniers to be that way?

I think some are definitely policy drivers like DeSantis and Kemp and then there are other who seem to be riding the tide of minion sentiment like Abbott. I think it starts with Rump and swirls outward and after that it's a morass of ignorance and politics and who is driving and who is reacting moves with the tide.

[Sour Masher]

I think some are definitely policy drivers like DeSantis and Kemp and then there are other who seem to be riding the tide of minion sentiment like Abbott. I think it starts with Rump and swirls outward and after that it's a morass of ignorance and politics and who is driving and who is reacting moves with the tide.

Yeah, but even if the politicians steers away from this, even if we didn't have Trump in power, a large segment of the population, I think, would be against shut downs and the like, favoring business as usual. Of course, even then, the anti-maskers would be a special breed of selfish, and that should be a very small fringe that has clearly been emboldened by Trump.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Yeah, but even if the politicians steers away from this, even if we didn't have Trump in power, a large segment of the population, I think, would be against shut downs and the like, favoring business as usual. Of course, even then, the anti-maskers would be a special breed of selfish, and that should be a very small fringe that has clearly been emboldened by Trump.

I believe a clear and concise lockdown/masking/distancing plan backed by Health professionals and a cohesive congressional effort to aid Americans while in lockdown (which would have been shorter), an International effort to come up with a Vaccine (or some treatment that helped in one way or another to get through/combat the virus, would have been met with the same resolve and unity that we saw after 9/11, BUT we are in the twilight zone when it comes to politics so this was never gonna happen--It was/is a perfect storm for this virus--it will do more damage then it ever should have, we now have to focus on reigning it in once the regime changes are done--so I se NO significant progress until Jan 22, 2021.

[swampdragon]

I believe a clear and concise lockdown/masking/distancing plan backed by Health professionals and a cohesive congressional effort to aid Americans while in lockdown (which would have been shorter), an International effort to come up with a Vaccine (or some treatment that helped in one way or another to get through/combat the virus, would have been met with the same resolve and unity that we saw after 9/11, BUT we are in the twilight zone when it comes to politics so this was never gonna happen--It was/is a perfect storm for this virus--it will do more damage then it ever should have, we now have to focus on reigning it in once the regime changes are done--so I se NO significant progress until Jan 22, 2021.

No one sees significant progress until then - Trumps supporters don't have a plan because they refuse to acknowledge that problem even exists - six months and there still is no plan (and never will be for Trump)

[DMT]

No one sees significant progress until then - Trumps supporters don't have a plan because they refuse to acknowledge that problem even exists - six months and there still is no plan (and never will be for Trump)

Why would they need a plan when they've already done such a great job? We just need to listen to Trump and block all the other fake news out. Only he has the truth.

[Kevin Seitzer]

I think some are definitely policy drivers like DeSantis and Kemp and then there are other who seem to be riding the tide of minion sentiment like Abbott. I think it starts with Rump and swirls outward and after that it's a morass of ignorance and politics and who is driving and who is reacting moves with the tide.

I think Abbott would do the right thing if it weren't for Trump making that extremely difficult for him politically. At this point that's impossible given all the FUD that's been sown.

[GwynnInTheHall]

I think Abbott would do the right thing if it weren't for Trump making that extremely difficult for him politically. At this point that's impossible given all the FUD that's been sown.

I agree, which is why I put him in the following the way the minions flow category--he seems to WANT to do the right thing, but gets peer pressured into going with the MAGA flow.

[Sour Masher]

This is a good reminder of the hidden death toll with COVID: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/med...bDy?li=BBorjTa

[madducks]

United Parcel Service Inc. is building two giant freezer farms capable of super-cooling millions of vials of a Covid-19 vaccine, preparing for the day when it will need to deliver the medicine at high speed across the globe.

The facilities, under construction in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Netherlands, near UPS air hubs, will house a total of 600 deep-freezers that can each hold 48,000 vials of vaccine at temperatures as low as -80 Celsius (-112 Fahrenheit). That’s on par with some of the coldest temperatures in Antarctica.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-if-we-get-one

[madducks]

Some schools reopened this past week in Mississippi and Georgia and there are already cases of children with COVID-19.